In the view of functionalism, racial and ethnic inequalities must have served an important function in order to exist as long as they have. Sociological Theories of Prejudice Functionalism Therefore, we divide the world into “them” and “us” or in-groups and out-groups with heightened prejudicial attitudes toward the out-groups. He says that we tend to increase our self-image by enhancing the status of the group to which we belong.
Psychologist Gordon Allport developed the contact hypothesis or intergroup contact theory in the 1950s, which posits if two groups with equal status and common goals come together, with cooperation, structural supports (i.e., existing laws or customs), and interpersonal communication, they can reduce stereotypes, prejudices, and discrimination.Īccording to Henri Tajfel’s social identity theory (1979), people examine their own identity in light of perceived group membership. Adorno said this led to increased levels of prejudice and the likelihood for these people to feel more connected to what he called the “F-scale,” (a pre-fascist personality), or to right-wing ideologies. In his book, The Authoritarian Personality (1950), Theodor Adorno concluded that excessively strict authoritarian parenting caused children to feel immense anger towards their parents, but instead of confronting their parents, they idolized authority figures. Some of these were psychological theories, which focused on how an individual may come to develop, or not develop, prejudices. Scholars in the 1950s produced a number of theories addressing racial, ethnic, and nationalist prejudices in the aftermath of the Holocaust. Explain and differentiate between theories of prejudice.Explain symbolic interactionist views on race and ethnicity.Describe conflict theorists’ views on race and ethnicity.Describe functionalist views on race and ethnicity.It may be that Advanced Level Sociology students quite simply do not have the enough time to read such studies but in that case I hope that perhaps the reviews and video materials might prove useful. The following links are to important detailed studies published in the last 2 or three years. Ĭlick here for Radio 4 Analysis: Capitalists against the Super-Rich Mr Portillo interviews both supporters and critics of the capitalist system but those who are familiar with Mr Portillo’s own political career will not be surprised by his own conclusions. Part Two of this series should help students to evaluate critically Functionalist views as to the extent of social mobility in contemporary capitalist societies such as the UK.Ĭlick here for a Guardian Business Podcast : Does Income Inequality Matter?Ĭlick here for a research digest from the Equalities Trust on Social Mobility and Economic Inequality June 2013Ĭlick here for Michael Portillo’s BBC Radio 4 two part series entitled Capitalism on Trial. Tumin’s critiqueĬlick here for a very useful You Tube podcast from Park Sociology on Functionalist Theories of Social InequalityĬlick here for The Class Ceiling. Link added February 2015 : click here for “The Price of Inequality” 2 Part Radio 4 series by Robert Peston]Ĭlick here for a recent BBC item which addresses the difficulty of determining “which workers are really key”.Ĭlick here for Some Principles of Stratification and here for M. ALYR1/2-Political Ideologies-General Resources.
and Politics, Political Ideologies: Year 1/2
ALYR1-Elections, Electoral Systems and Voting Behaviour.Global Development and World Sociology Links.